


unravel

by RinChanSanMatsuoka



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tokyo Ghoul, Blood, Cannibalism, Fluff, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, consensual cannibalism, figured i'd clarify that lmao, sousuke's a giant mush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 13:56:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5588641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/pseuds/RinChanSanMatsuoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke makes a difficult choice to save the one he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	unravel

**Author's Note:**

> This AU is something I've been playing around with for quite some time and I finally got to write something for it. It was supposed to be more disgusting but ended up weirdly fluffy, whoops.
> 
> EDIT: omg I found an editing note I left in whoops... please ignore that. I've fixed it now.

The first thing Sousuke notices is the smell.  A coppery tang clung to the air of his apartment and he wrinkled his nose as he shut the door behind him.  He couldn't think of anything that could be causing the smell, because he knew he had taken out the trash before heading to class.  
  
Glancing around his apartment, hesitant to step in further than his entryway, Sousuke tried to find the source of the odor.  It was so strong it was starting to make him gag.  He bent over, trying to catch his breath and keep the contents of his stomach in their place when he saw it.  
  
There, on the tiled floor, were a few drops of blood.  It couldn't be anything else, especially not with the smell.  He followed the drops with his eyes, noticing as they grew bigger and formed small puddles.  
  
‘This is going to be a pain to clean up’, he thought, frowning as the blood trail led over to his bed.  
  
In the half-light from the entryway, he could make out a lump on the floor, pressed into the corner between the bed and the wall.  
  
"...Hello?"  Sousuke frowned at how hesitant his own voice sounded but as much as he hated to admit it, fear was clawing its way up his throat.  Someone, or something, was in his apartment dripping blood all over the place.  
  
"Fuck..."  
  
The voice was weak but Sousuke would know it anywhere.  He'd heard it almost every day since his third year of high school, since he had asked Rin to be his.  He had memorized every emotion that voice could portray, except this one.  The utterly defeated tone made Sousuke want to believe this wasn't real but he stepped forward, as worry overtook his fear.  
  
"Rin, what...  What happened?  Who hurt you?"  There was anger there now, slowly igniting just below the surface.  He _would_ find whoever had hurt Rin.  Determined to find out what had happened to Rin, Sousuke took another step forward, squinting in the dark in an attempt to see what was wrong.  The dim entry light wasn't nearly enough to show him anything, so he moved to turn on the large ceiling light in his apartment.  
  
"D-Don't..."  Rin's voice was weak and came too late to stop the light from flickering on.  
  
From what Sousuke could see, Rin was hunched over on his knees, hugging himself and staring at the floor.  The large blanket from Sousuke's bed was draped over him, almost entirely hiding him from sight.  Sousuke could only see the top of his head, red hair hanging over Rin's face and shielding it from view.  
  
The blood was pooling around Rin, dripping off him and onto the floor.  Rin was clearly injured and yet, as Sousuke approached him, he shrank back, hiding under the blanket.  
  
"Rin, please... I have to help you!"  Panic was starting to seep its way into Sousuke, worming itself down into his very bones.  If he didn't get Rin to a hospital immediately...  Well, he didn't want to think about that.  
  
"Leave me... Alone..."  Rin's voice was weak but defiant as he pulled the blanket further over him.  
  
When Sousuke made a grab for the blanket, Rin jolted back, pressing himself further into the corner.  
  
"Please, Sousuke, just go..."  A quiet sob escaped Rin and Sousuke saw him press a hand against his mouth, muffling the noise.  
  
"No, I'm not going to leave you here to die!  Now stop being so stubborn and show me what's wrong!"  Making another grab for the blanket, Sousuke felt his fingers grasp it finally. Giving it a hard tug, he yanked it off his boyfriend, wincing at the pained yelp that came from Rin.  
  
Now, without the blanket, Sousuke could finally take in what was wrong.  A large gash covered Rin's shoulders, deep and shining wetly with blood.  If Sousuke looked close enough, he could see bits of bone from Rin's shoulder blades, the stark white peeking out here and there through all the red.  Along with the bone, there was a strange, red glow in Rin’s wound, though Sousuke had no idea what that could be.  Something left behind by the attacker?  
  
Sousuke swallowed down the bile climbing up his throat, choosing instead to focus on Rin.  There was only one thing that Sousuke could think of doing this to Rin and it wasn't some slasher film villain.  
  
"Was it... Was it a ghoul?"  If Sousuke was right, he could only imagine how lucky Rin was to still be _alive_.  
  
Rin remained silent and hunched over on the floor, face pressed into his hands, but at the mention of those monsters, he tensed up considerably.  "Sousuke... Go away..."  
  
Hating the annoyance he felt in that moment, frustrated that Rin kept pushing him away, Sousuke knelt down in front of Rin.  Blood seeped into his pants but he paid it no mind, focusing on his boyfriend.  "Rin, that's enough. I need to get you to a hospital or you're going to die."  
  
He had expected Rin to be hesitant or afraid at the mention of a hospital but instead, his boyfriend just _laughed_.  It was a disgusting sound, harsh and bitter and wet with blood that Rin coughed onto the floor.  
  
"Hospitals can't... Can't do shit for me," Rin laughed bitterly before spitting another glob of blood onto the floor.  "So just go away!"  
  
Having had enough of this, Sousuke surged forward, grabbing Rin's wrists in his hands and pulling them away from his face.  He had been expecting the blood and the tears but not the eyes.  No, he had never once expected to see those eyes on Rin.  
  
Bright red irises stared at him from within black sclera as pulsing veins trailed away from each eye.  Sousuke had seen eyes like these before, in textbooks and on the news and the longer he looked at them, the further his heart sank into his stomach.  
  
"I told you, Sou...  No hospital can help me," Rin whispered, simply watching as Sousuke tried to comprehend the gravity of the situation.  
  
There was an injured ghoul in his apartment, one who just so happened to also be his boyfriend, whom he had loved for years.  Sousuke was afraid, of course he was afraid, but under that fear was the need to protect Rin.  But if hospitals were of no use, what could he possibly do to help Rin? 

As he thought, Sousuke stared into those red eyes, seeing familiarity inside their monstrous appearance.  This was still Rin, no matter what he looked like.  
  
Realization dawned on him that Rin was a _ghoul_ and it was very likely that he needed to feed in order to heal.  Hadn’t some news report mentioned that?  It would make sense that proper sustenance would aid in a ghoul’s healing, just like it did with humans. 

Without further hesitation, Sousuke pulled away from Rin, stripping out of his jacket and shirt.  He could see Rin's own realization as the other man panicked and tried to move away, only to collapse from his injuries.  
  
After his chest was bare, Sousuke settled himself down in front of Rin, pulling his boyfriend into a sitting position.  "Rin, you have to.  Please, I want you to live."  
  
Rin’s panic was obvious as he tried to move away again, only for Sousuke to pull him into a hug.  "I'll be fine."  Well, that wasn't entirely true.  Sousuke didn't know how quickly Rin would regain his strength and he just hoped Rin’s ghoul instinct or whatever wouldn’t take over.  
  
When Rin didn't move to bite, Sousuke glanced at him, frowning when he saw the look on Rin's face.  
  
Rin was a mess.  He was biting his bottom lip hard enough to make it bleed, black and red eyes filled with tears that poured freely down his face.  The blood from his lip mixed with drool, spilling out of his mouth and down his chin.  “I’m so hungry,” he whispered, pushing at Sousuke weakly.  
  
"Rin, it's alright. Eat," he said softly, watching as Rin's resolve crumbled.  Reaching up, he ran a hand through Rin’s hair, pushing the strands out of his face.  Steeling himself for the pain, Sousuke grit his teeth and pulled Rin closer.  
  
Sharp teeth pressed into his skin of his right shoulder and Sousuke winced, gritting his teeth.  “It’s okay, Rin,” he reassured again, even though every nerve in his body was screaming at him to run.

If Sousuke thought the initial bite had hurt, it was nothing compared to when Rin started to really eat.  His sharp teeth tore through tissue and muscle, chewing into the flesh, until he pulled back, taking a good sized chunk of meat off Sousuke's shoulder.  One hand flew to his mouth as he screamed into his palm, trying to muffle the sound as he felt tears of his own burn hot trails down his cheeks.  His other hand continued to stroke Rin’s hair, trying to keep Rin grounded through touch, though his fingers trembled from the pain.  
  
When Sousuke was sure he wouldn't scream from pain again, he pulled his hand away from his mouth.  He cupped Rin’s face, smiling softly.  "There you go...  I'm here for you, Rin."  It was bizarre, really, watching and encouraging Rin to devour a part of Sousuke.  
  
Rin leaned against him weakly and when he finally swallowed, he started to cry again.  “Why?”  His voice was soft as he let out another sob.

“Because I love you, Rin.  I would do anything for you.”  Sousuke smiled, pressing a kiss to Rin’s forehead.  It might be stupid, trusting a ghoul like this, but Rin was still Rin.  His beautiful, crybaby of a boyfriend who loved petting cats and making Sousuke lunch, who would have rather _died_ than feed off of Sousuke.

Finally, Rin pulled away, unconsciously licking at his lips, though blood remained smeared across his chin and cheeks.  “I love you, Sousuke…  I guess some part of me always knew you would help me.  That’s why I came here.”  He smiled slightly, looking at the ground.

Sousuke cupped Rin’s face, turning it back to him.  “Don’t hide.  This is part of you and… and I don’t want to be scared of it.”  His thumbs brushed over the veins beside Rin’s eyes as he leaned forward to kiss his forehead again.

Rin’s smile widened slightly and he rolled his shoulders a bit.  “Then, please don’t be afraid of this.”

Sousuke watched, eyes widening, as the glow he had seen in Rin’s wound form into the shape of wings, spreading up over his shoulders.  Red swirled throughout the black wings, always moving as Rin rolled his shoulders again.  “That’s… your kagune?”  His voice was quiet as he reached forward, running a careful hand over one of the wings.  It felt like flesh beneath his hand, solid with a bit of give.

The wing twitched and Rin smiled again.  “Yeah, this is it.”

“It’s beautiful,” Sousuke whispered, smiling as he watched Rin’s black eyes widen.  “ _You’re_ beautiful.”

Rin’s face turned bright red and he looked away quickly, muttering something about Sousuke being an idiot.

“Yes, yes, I know I’m an idiot.  Now, how is your injury?  And what the hell happened to you?”  Sousuke frowned, trying to look over Rin’s shoulders.

Turning around, Rin retracted his kagune, showing Sousuke a slowly healing wound.  “It’s healing,” he said softly, glancing over his shoulder.  “I…  I pissed off a rinkaku type.”  Rin laughed, though this time it was soft and not the harsh laughter from earlier.  “They kicked my ass and I really would have died if it wasn’t for you.  But don’t ever do that again okay!  I don’t like eating the living.”

Now that was surprising.  Sousuke had been under the assumption that ghouls needed to eat the living in order to survive.  “Then what do you do for food…?”

“Scavenge.  It’s not always pretty but… it’s better than killing.”  Rin turned around again, facing Sousuke once more.  “I prefer getting… food from those that died naturally.”

“Oh.”  Well, that made a lot of sense.  Sousuke couldn’t imagine Rin killing anyone, even if it was for survival.  “I promise I’ll never offer it again unless it’s to save your life.”  As if his thoughts brought the pain back, his arm throbbed and he covered the bite with one hand.

“ _You_ need to get to a hospital.  A little bit of food won’t fix you like it did me.”  Gently, Rin put a hand over Sousuke’s, frowning at the bite.  “I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be.  I told you to and I would do it again.  You’re too important to me.  But, Rin…  If I leave, will you stay?”  Sousuke frowned slightly.  The thought of coming back from the hospital and finding Rin gone scared him.

“I’ll stay.  I’m still too weak to go anywhere else.”  Rin smiled softly, pressing a soft kiss to Sousuke’s cheek.  It was sticky with blood but Sousuke just smiled.

With Rin’s help, he got up, cleaning up and dressing as best as he could.  In his small bathroom, he cleaned Rin’s face of blood as Rin cleaned off the bloody kiss mark.

“I’ll be here, Sou.  Please get taken care of,” Rin whispered, looking up at Sousuke nervously.  His eyes slowly returned to normal, the veins vanishing from around them.

“I will.  I love you.”  With a soft smile, Sousuke leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Rin’s lips.

Rin returned the kiss, closing his eyes and pressing close to Sousuke.  When they finally broke apart, his face was flushed and he was smiling.  “I’ll wait for you.”

* * *

When Sousuke returned to his apartment, fixed up as best as possible and with a strong prescription of painkillers, he was pleased to find that the apartment had been cleaned of blood.  He was even more pleased to find Rin curled up on his bed, sleeping soundly.  Quietly, Sousuke found a clean blanket and crawled into bed beside Rin, wrapping them both up in it.

Rin stirred slightly, curling closer to Sousuke, but he continued sleeping.  Still making sure to be quiet, Sousuke pressed a kiss to his cheek before settling down to sleep.

Dating a ghoul probably wouldn’t be easy but Sousuke was determined to try, consequences be damned.  Rin was just too important to give up on just because of what he was.


End file.
